Democrats Ask for Vote on Presidential Return Disclosure Bill

As President Releases New Tax Plan, Oversight Dems Press for Vote on Bipartisan Bill Requiring Him to Release Tax Returns

Bill Gaining Momentum with More Republican Cosponsors

Apr 26, 2017

Washington, D.C. (April 26, 2017) — Today, Democrats Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Jason Chaffetz requesting that he allow Committee Members to vote on H.R. 305, the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, which would require President Donald Trump and all future presidents to disclose their tax returns to the American people.

“As Members of Congress, we have the ability and duty to legislate in order to promote government transparency, combat conflicts of interest, and ensure compliance with the Constitution,” the Members wrote. “H.R. 305 has bipartisan support both on and off our Committee, and we believe Members should be allowed to vote on this bill.”

Last month, the Democratic Members sent a letter requesting that the Chairman allow a vote at business meetings on March 16 or March 28, but he declined to add the bill to the schedule either day.

The bill is now co-sponsored by four House Republicans — Reps. Mark Sanford (SC), Justin Amash (MI), Ted Yoho (FL), and Walter Jones (NC). Reps. Sanford and Amash serve on the Oversight Committee.

The Members sent their letter on the same day President Trump released his tax proposal. It remains unclear exactly how much he or his family members stand to gain personally under his proposal because he continues to refuse to release his tax returns. For example, the President’s proposal would eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax — which required him to pay tens of millions of dollars in taxes in 2005.

In response to the President’s tax plan, Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings issued the following statement:

Click here and see below to read today’s letter.

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April 26, 2017

The Honorable Jason Chaffetz
Chairman
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

We have been asking for the past six weeks that you allow our Committee Members to vote on a bill that would require President Donald Trump and all future presidents to disclose their tax returns to the American people. Although last year you urged then-candidate Trump to “open up your kimono” and disclose his tax returns, you have declined to allow us to vote on legislation that would require President Trump to make his tax returns public.

On March 13, 2017, all Democratic Members of the Committee wrote to request that you place H.R. 305, the Presidential Tax Transparency Act, on the agenda for the Committee’s business meeting on March 16. Alternatively, if you chose not to allow a vote on March 16, we asked that you schedule the bill “at our next regularly scheduled business meeting.”¹ The Committee held business meetings on March 16 and March 28, but you declined to place H.R. 305 on the agenda for either day or to schedule it for any future business meetings.

Since we wrote to you in March, bipartisan support for H.R. 305 has grown. Republican Committee Member Mark Sanford had already co-sponsored the bill on January 30, and Republican Committee Member Justin Amash also co-sponsored the bill on March 24. Republican Members outside our Committee have also joined, including Rep. Ted Yoho, who co-sponsored the bill on April 14, and Rep. Walter Jones, who co-sponsored the bill on April 20.

In addition, since we wrote to you, the Committee heard testimony on March 23 from Richard Painter, the chief ethics counsel to former President George W. Bush, who strongly endorsed H.R. 305 and urged us “to pass that bill as soon as possible.”²

Mr. Painter cited numerous reasons why Congress and the American people should obtain access to the information in President Trump’s tax returns. He testified:

Mr. Painter continued:

Mr. Painter concluded:

Our staff asked for feedback to identify any technical changes that you may deem necessary to allow a vote on H.R. 305, but the only proposal offered was to delay the bill’s effective date to 2024.

Of course, we support requiring future presidents to disclose their tax returns, but exempting President Trump from this requirement makes no sense at all — especially since every previous president for the past four decades has voluntarily disclosed his tax returns.

As Members of Congress, we have the ability and duty to legislate in order to promote government transparency, combat conflicts of interest, and ensure compliance with the Constitution. H.R. 305 has bipartisan support both on and off our Committee, and we believe Members should be allowed to vote on this bill.

We understand that you are now considering scheduling another business meeting for May Given all the developments that have occurred since we wrote to you in March, we respectfully request that you add H.R. 305 to the agenda for this markup.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Elijah E. Cummings
Ranking Member

Carolyn B. Maloney
Member

Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member

Wm. Lacy Clay
Member

Stephen F. Lynch
Member

Jim Cooper
Member

Gerald E. Connolly
Vice Ranking Member

Robin L. Kelly
Member

Brenda L. Lawrence
Member

Bonnie Watson Coleman
Member

Stacey E. Plaskett
Member

Val Butler Demings
Member

Raja Krishnamoorthi
Member

Jamie Raskin
Member

Peter Welch
Member

Matt Cartwright
Member

Mark DeSaulnier
Member

John Sarbanes
Member